[s6e19] - With Friends Like These

The BAU realizes the overkill is a desperate act to burn energy so Ben can sleep and get a reprieve from his hallucinations.

In a heart-wrenching scene, Ben calls his mother for help during a breakdown, but she dismisses him, telling him to "find a yellow pages" and hangs up, leaving him to the voices.

Early theories suggest a "pack" of killers, but Hotch quickly realizes it is one single, highly disturbed individual leaving the same shoe prints at every crime scene. The unsub is Ben Foster (played by Bug Hall), a paranoid schizophrenic who believes he is being pursued by the ghosts of three friends he killed in a fire when he was a child. These "ghosts" (Matt, Tony, and Yolanda) now haunt him, acting as "imaginary foes" that force him to kill to get them to stop nagging him. [S6E19] With Friends Like These

reactions (like Reid or Seaver)?

Ben’s "friends" urge him to attack a nurse, Karen Heywood, after an awkward supermarket interaction. The BAU realizes the overkill is a desperate

This episode is a standout for its unique portrayal of the unsub's mental state. By showing the hallucinations as real, active participants in the first half of the episode, the audience feels the same confusion and helplessness that Ben experiences.

Spencer Reid is deeply affected by the schizophrenic unsub, fearing his own mental health issues and struggling with the team's loss of Prentiss. The unsub is Ben Foster (played by Bug

Ben takes children hostage, but in a rare moment of clarity and mercy, he does not kill them despite his "friends" demanding it. The BAU eventually catches him, and he is shot after charging them with a knife. Review: "With Friends Like These..."